On Tuesday, a Washington Post report, citing a confidential U.S. intelligence assessment, claimed the pariah state had successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that could fit inside its missiles.

The conflict escalated after a warning from Trump, using language similar to the North’s own frequent saber-rattling: If it were to make any more threats against the U.S., the president said, Pyongyang “will be met with fire, fury, and frankly, power, the likes of which this world has never seen before.”

“China should also make clear that if North Korea launches missiles that threaten U.S. soil first and the U.S. retaliates, China will stay neutral,” the Global Times, which is widely read but does not represent government policy, said in an editorial.

“If the U.S. and South Korea carry out strikes and try to overthrow the North Korean regime and change the political pattern of the Korean Peninsula, China will prevent them from doing so,” it said.